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Posted

Ok well I have an old Ibanez RX series that I cut a handle in etc...

The finish on the body is a teal/forest green wood stain. I sanded down the front and back and left the sides untouched...it looks rather neat. What I would like to do is keep the edges that green stain (partley because im too lazy to sand it) and stain the front and back a brown to get a forest kind of look.

Now on to the question..

How do I go about doing this...do I just sand the clear coat off the edges and be careful about not goin all the way through the green stain then apply the brown and clear coat the whole thing for the finish?

Heres the pics:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p...859&uid=3151883

Posted

Have you got any idea wht the original finsih is?

If you have nitrocellulose lacquer stain the wood with a spirit type stain. It shouldn't bite to the lacquer if you wipe the overage off immediately. especially since this is old fully cured lacquer, (if it is lacquer.) Test an area with your proposed top coat and if it bonds your home free and lucky. I've overcoated finishes that I know are 30 years old 'cause i did 'em the first time. With good to excellent results.

Posted

Sorry, this is my first time dealing with any of this stuff so you might have to dumb it down for me haha.

Ill check on the stain I have in the morning, alls i know is that my dad uses it on furniture and such.

Also on the original color on the guitar...should I sand the clear coating off it then stain the brown, then clear coat everything?

Posted

Lets say "adjust for experience."

If your dad does furniture he probably has 1) the right stuff to use and 2) enough experience to keep you out of trouble.

Take some lacquer thinner and put it on the twisted up point of a rag Go to a place on the back, like where the neck plate is and see if that dissolves the clear when you rub it. If it does you have lacquer and are home free. The furniture stain he has 99 times out of 100 is the right stuff to use. Stain the wood. Wipe off anything that you get on the old finish immediately. Let it dry in a warm dry place for 24 hours. Clear coat everything carefully. Read some of the old posts on how to do the clear coat.

If it isn't lacquer then you have a diffierent problem. Re-post what you find.

Posted

Well, I applied the laquer thinner to a cloth and rubbed away with no result.

Heres the stain and laquer thinner im using.

86088951.jpg

And heres the edge of the guitar showing what i want to stay on.

86088994.jpg

BTW. the wood putty in the handle is a stainable kind =)

Posted

Sometimes my impatience can be a good thing :D

I went ahead and put stain on a small area w/o removing the clear coat on the green...well it turned out exactly how I wanted!

(keep in mind this is before I do fine sanding on the body and all that good stuff.)

86111179.jpg

(its actually darker then it looks in this last pic...more like the 1st one)

86111250.jpg

Posted (edited)

Haha, roger that!

I saded the fret board and now its just awaiting on me to get some money to order a new truss rod and binding.

**edit - Btw (even though this doesnt pertain to finishes) im making a pickgaurd soon, it will be made out of high laminate wood from a local hobby shop. I want to make it ebony to fit the theme of the guitar. Oh and question, how do I go about "ebonizing" a fret board?

Edited by shinjiakari22
Posted

Nice looking work. You've probably got polyester on the green part. I'd leave it alone and just finish to the to where you're happy. It's looking good now. You can't re-coat polyester, as far as I know, so leave it be.

The easy way to ebonize a fret board is to buy one made of ebony to start with . The cost isn't much different than rosewood. Stew-Mac sells a stain to even out any sap wood (the light stuff) tahn may be there, but I like the variation. The same stain will darken rosewood to ebony. Minwax type spirit stains will not give the really dark colors, and the ones cabinetmakers use come in gallons and can be a pain to use.

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